1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel vehicle lamp and a rotary driving apparatus. More specifically, the present invention relates to an apparatus including a rotational position detecting means for detecting the rotational position of a driving source for rotating optical means and of the optical means. The rotational position detecting means can accurately detect the rotational orientation of the optical means.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is a vehicle lamp including a light source and optical means such as a reflector, and a lamp body. The direction of irradiation is changed by rotating the light source.
When the optical means is rotated by remote control, detecting the rotational position of the optical means becomes necessary. To detect the rotational position, it is conceivable to employ a base member and a rotating body that rotates with respect to the base member and a potentiometer to supply signals according to the rotational angle of the rotating body with respect to the base member.
To detect the rotational position of the optical means accurately, the position of the optical means should coincide with that of the rotating body of the rotational position detecting means. In other words, when the optical means is at the neutral position, the rotating body should be located at the position where the rotational position detecting means supplies a neutral position signal.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to enable the positional adjustment between the optical means and the rotating body of the rotational position detecting means after assembly.
The vehicle lamp of the present invention includes optical means including a light source to be rotated by the driving unit having a driving source. The driving unit is provided with a rotational position detecting means including a base member and a rotating body being rotatable with respect to the base member for supplying signals corresponding to the rotational position of the rotating body with respect to the base member. The optical means and the rotating body of the rotational position detecting means are connected by clutch means.
Therefore, the position of the optical means with respect to the rotating body of the rotational position detecting means can be adjusted after assembling the driving unit and the optical means, for example, by fixing the rotating body of the rotational position detecting means to the position where a neutral position signal is supplied, disconnecting the connection between the rotating body and the optical means by the clutch means, rotating the optical means to the neutral position, and subsequently connecting between the optical means and the rotating body of the rotational position detecting means again by the clutch means.